Rise of the Warren: Dangerous Alliances
by S. Morgan Cargile
Summary: The four clans are approached by rabbits offering an unprecedented alliance between predator and prey.
1. Prologue

Rise of the Warren: Dangerous Alliances

Written by S. Morgan Cargile

Updates every Friday

A small hare crept silently towards the top of a hill, sheltered from owls by a a dense canopy of trees and gorse. With each step she paused, sniffed the air, and felt the dirt for vibrations through the sensitive pink pads of her paws. She closed her eyes and waited before moving forward. She willed her heart to quiet and her breathing to slow. A rapid heart rate could reveal their location. The wind swept her scent away. Her trek up the hill, invisible and silent, slowed a low crawl. She knew surprise was the only way her plan could succeed. She needed to appear at precisely the right moment. The moon would tell her when to rise. Until then, she must not be detected.

The small hare projected white light, a dangerous color amongst the fall leaves, but in a few moons time, she would be invisible in a snow bank. With her dense white fur, tipped light gray, one might believe that each hair on her silky coat had been dipped in silver.

Once she and the rabbits reached the top of the hill, she sat in silent vigil as the moon began to rise behind her.

The two large rabbits, with soft fawn-colored coats, blending imperceptibly into the fallen leaves, matched their leaders pace but remained a hop behind. They twitched their ears listening for sounds on all sides. The silver hare sat at the crest of the hill, folding her paws under her slender body. The rabbits silently crept closer to their leader and crouched low on either side to disguise her glistening coat. Their leader, less than half their size, slipped invisibly between them.

She slipped her face between the two massive rabbits, twitched her nose and sniffed the air. "They come," she said ominously.

Below the hill lay a recessed circular clearing with a tall, narrow tree on each quadrant - a small hollow. In the middle of the clearing, an intimidating shard of dark rock jutted violently through the soft ground. Specks of clear quartz dotted its jagged landscape. Soft mosses crept up the sides of the rock and covered the floor that lay beneath. The first leaves of Fall floated weightlessly in the air above the green carpet. The clearing, sheltered by hills on all sides protected small ferns and bright flowers glistening with the first drops of dew. The moonlight filtered through clouds and bathed the clearing in ephemeral light. The leaves fell to its floor in drifts, as harbingers of the harsh winter to come. The hare and rabbits shivered silently as a rush of cold air swept across the moors.

Dozens of cats began gathering in the clearing below. Some cats greeted each other with affectionate nuzzles while others exchanged icy glares that told stories of old grudges and fresh wounds. As the hare had been foretold, no cats fought with each other. Even the most battle-hardened cats exchanged respectful nods. Younger cats earnestly exchanged tales of recent adventures. Elder cats sang tales of epic battles, long ago fought, by the legendary big cats who once roamed these lands. The entire clearing seemed to vibrate as cats swirled around each other in greeting under the colorful backdrop of green mosses contrasted by fiery-orange leaves falling from the sky.

Four cats jumped onto the tremendous rock in the center of the clearing. A sturdy gray queen yowled to silence the crowd below.

In the moment of silence created by the gray cat's command, the hare stepped forward onto the highest point on the hill. The moon rose in the sky behind her, turning the silver doe into a dark silhouette. She called to the cats below in a noble, confident voice "Your Gods have decreed that no violence shall occur at a clan gathering. Our Gods have decreed that we shall deliver their message to your clans. Therefore, our message must be heard."

"We don't take orders from prey!"

"Only clans may speak at our gathering!"

Below the hill rang yowls of laughter and mocking. A gray tabby tom said to a silvery black she-cat, "I bet I can catch her before you can!"

More voices joined the cacophony.

"She's so small, she's hardly worth the effort! Hardly bigger than a vole!"

"Clan rules don't apply to outsiders!"

An elder gray queen said to a small red she-cat in a raspy voice, "I think this is the most fun we've had at a gathering since I was a kit!," before falling over with laughter.

A muscular, red tom, sitting quietly alone, titled his head with curiosity, watching the moonlit rabbits above. "I think I remember this…I think I've seen it in a dream!" he gasped, whispering to himself.

Undeterred by the jeers from below, the small hare stood her ground; her face betraying no emotion. She simply watched the cats in silence and waited.

The two large rabbits, larger than the largest most rugged battle cats, rose from their crouched position to stand next to the diminutive hare. Both simply stood by her side, without a hint of fear or aggression.

A broad, sturdy gray queen stepped forward. "The hare is correct. We shall not desecrate this gathering with violence. We shall hear her message and allow her to leave in peace. Agreed?"

The three other cats looked at each other incredulously, then nodded their approval. The other cats looked at each other with undisguised shock, looked to their leaders, then looked back to the hare flanked by two rabbits. The cats below followed their leaders orders, but their eyes revealed anger and disapproval.

The hare gracefully leapt to the clearing, touching the ground so lightly that she didn't make a sound until she spoke. The cats looked at each other in amazement. The two enormous rabbits remained on the top of the hill, still as monuments.

"Quieter than you thought, I suppose," she said with a wink towards a group of young cats, their mouths still agape in amazement.

She made her way confidently towards the large rock looking only towards the large gray queen, ignoring all other cats in the gathering. In spite of being smaller than the youngest cat present, she showed no signs of fear. The moonlight lit the silver tips of her coat. She seemed surrounded by light as she crossed the dark clearing. The green moss under her paws glowed from the moonlight on her coat. Her paws touched the ground so lightly and quickly that her leaps became a continuous wave of light undulating towards the great rock. She leapt, effortlessly to a spot directly in front of the gray queen.

The moonlight shone behind the two rabbits standing guard on the hill, illuminating two imposing outlines as the delicate hare stood on the rock surrounded by cats at least three times her size - the same cats who had killed and eaten her friends, her family, and possibly, her own mother.

The gray cat gasped as the hare, glowing by the moon approached her. "The light shall guide you," she whispered under her breath.

The other three cats on the rock remained standing but with backs arched and claws unsheathed. A quiet hissing floated through the air. The hairs of many cats stood on end as murmurs and angry growls passed through the clearing. A large brown tabby stood below the rock, his legs spread, gripping the ground with his claws, readying himself for attack.

All clouds cleared from the sky and the moon bathed the clearing in dazzling white light. The silver hare became as bright as the moon itself. The moonlight refracted through each quartz crystal in the dark rock throwing stars and rainbows throughout the hollow. The floating leaves seemed to stop, suspended in midair. For a moment, all was still and quiet.

The cats began stepping away from the rock in a mixture of amazement and terror. The only sounds were the breathing and heartbeats of the cats. The air became thick with their fear scent. As they broke free from their stunned silence, cats began growling and hissing around the rock, under the hare and their leaders.

Time seemed to slow as the growling cats became disoriented by the dazzling lights bouncing off of their meeting stone. Though stumbling, the cats sniffed furiously, searching for the source of their confusion. A shimmering fog drifted through the hollow overwhelming the cats in a kaleidoscope of lights and colors. Even the eldest cats looked upon the scene in amazement.

The petite hare gave a powerful stomp of a hind leg, once again silencing the crowd. "You will hear my message," came a dark, terrifying growl from the tiny hare's mouth blanketing the hollow in darkness and horror. The darkness and the voice fell upon the crowd, hard as a blow, stealing the breath from the cats' throats. A cloud passed over the moon and for a moment, the grove fell into complete darkness. Icy winds swirled around the circle, instantly freezing falling leaves and sending them flying as if thin blades of ice. The cats below yowled in panic as the invisible blades grazed their coats in complete darkness. The cloud passed and once again moonlight filtered into the circle through hazy clouds. No cat was injured, but the hare had the full attention of all cats present.

"Starclan gives their blessing to this guest. We shall all hear her message," announced the gray queen with formality.

All cats fell silent, waiting to hear if any cat voiced an objection.

"Are you the queen they call Bluestar?" The delicate hare asked quietly, as if the two were alone in the clearing, speaking confidentially. The three toms on the rock, frozen in disbelief, hardly recognized the slight.

Bluestar, towering over the shimmering hare, bowed her head in greeting. Bluestar lifted her head to meet the gaze of the seemingly otherworldly creature, recognizing the hare as her equal, or at least a hare deserving of her respect.

"My name is Cerridwen," said the hare, returning Bluestar's respectful nod of greeting. "Ēostre sent me to find you." The hare said with reverence as she looked towards the sky.

Turning her full attention to the glowing, silver hare, Bluestar said, "What message have you come to deliver?"


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Near a small town, a row of cottage homesteads lined a loose-pebble country road. Each cottage lay on roughly an acre or so of land, each surrounded by fences. One could find small vegetable gardens on every plot, each just large enough for the family who lived within. Near the cottages one could also find chicken coops. Families in the small rural community raised chickens or rabbits for eggs, meat and fur. The long narrow lots allowed neighbors to wave at each other from porch swings and rocking chairs in the summer.

Days were becoming shorter as the air turned cooler. In the late afternoon, the sun was already sinking towards the horizon. A gaggle of geese few in a v-configuration above.

A freshly painted white picket fence surround the front yard of the last homestead on the north side of the country road. One would find an ornamental garden of roses in the front with a cobblestone path from the gate to the covered front porch. A slender woman wearing floral gardening gloves, a wide brimmed hat and a simple cotton dress, carefully pruned the rose bushes with delicate shears.

In the rear of the cottage, a small vegetable garden with lettuce, carrots, onions and a variety of greens and herbs lay adjacent to a large rabbit hutch. In the hutch, several feet above the ground, dozens of fawn-colored, adolescent Flemish Lops - the largest rabbits in the world - lazed about in the fading afternoon sun.

In a smaller section of the rabbit hutch, separated from the larger area, three rabbit does nursed their bunnies in soft nests. Their mothers nuzzled curled around their bunnies as the setting sun brought cooler winds.

The women from the front yard joined her husband in the rear. They both beamed with pride as the last rays of sun glimmering off of the beautiful fur coats. "I think they're ready," said the woman eagerly.

The man nodded his head in agreement. "I'll take them to the processor tomorrow."

…

Niobe, a light fawn mother doe living in the nursery section of the rabbit hutch, watched in horror as hands reached into the larger portion of the hutch in the yard, grabbing her children as they scrambled behind the largest rabbits. She desperately clawed at the mesh of the nursery cage, even though she knew that her effort was futile. The other mother does in the small nursery section of the hutch, called out in panicked wails. Terrified eyes wide, the mother does watched helplessly as their bunnies were tossed into cages. As her bunnies huddled in the throng, pressing themselves against the furthest wall of the cage in an effort to evade the grabbing hands, Niobe watched helplessly, scratching at the mesh of the metal cage until her claws bled. A wail of anguish she hardly recognized as her own joined the cacophony of screams as rabbits were thrown into cages in the bed of a rusty, old, pickup truck.

Niobe watched silently as her bunnies, loaded into the back of the foul monster, slowly disappeared from her view as the rusty old truck rambled down the pebble driveway. Gone. As they disappeared from her view, she frantically tried to hold on to their scent until it drifted away in the wind. The does in the nursery watched wide-eyed and silent. The mother does anguished wailing turned to helpless sobs as their children faded from their view.

The yard fell silent. Only a the mothering does and the youngest bunnies remained. The mothers drew closer, pressing against each other in a protective huddle. The largest hutch, where the mothering does could still see their bunnies become rabbits, now lay eerily barren. The Fall harvest was complete.

Niobe could feel her bunnies turning in her belly. "Please Gods, please save my bunnies from the Spring harvest. I can't watch them take my babies again," Niobe pleaded. "Please help me. Please help me save them!"

Sleep seemed impossible, but exhaustion overtook her and Niobe collapsed into unconsciousness.

In her dreams she, again, heard the does screaming. This time the hands grabbing the bunnies were taking them to the primary section of the hutch. Tufts of fur fell onto the nursery floor like drifts of snow. She watched herself take a bunny and lower it through a small opening. She lifted a second bunny and lowered it through the hole. She watched a third bunny run across the yard.

Niobe woke with a start, immediately jumping to her paws, ears alert. She silently padded over to the corner of the nursery where she had seen herself lowering bunnies through a small hole. She pushed aside bedding and found a wooden board with a small hole. Underneath the bedding and through the hole, she could see a glow of light, then dirt and grass below. The wood had just begun to rot. She took a tentative bite and found the wood soft and wet. After a few bites, she was crestfallen to find metal mesh under the layer of wood. She turned back to her bed in defeat, but a sudden gust of wind blowing up through the hole caught her attention. She turned back to find that she had chewed through to find a spot in the mesh that had rusted. She strained to grab onto a thin wire that was already detached and poking up towards Niobe. She finally caught it between her teeth.

The metal tasted acrid. A sharp edge cut her lip and her mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood. She desperately pulled in the thin wire, gripping it between her teeth. She dug her rear claws into the wire mesh and pushed back with the full strength of her hind legs. Doubt crept into her mind, but her thoughts returned to the dream and she kept pulling.

Mouth bleeding, trembling with exhaustion after struggling to pull the wire for hours, Niobe began to believe that her dream was nothing more than that - just a dream. She released the wire with a defeated sigh. As the wire recoiled back to its original position, Niobe heard a snap as another connection in the mesh broke.

At the same moment, the neighbor's cat, Princess, jumped over the fence. Her sinewy form floated across the yard as she made her way through the vegetable garden. The two-legs on the homestead considered Princess to be an expert mouser and a welcome guest. Their own cat, Heathcliff, lay on his back, sunning his belly not two leaps from a squirrel. Princess shot the squirrel a warning look. It jumped straight up in the air then scurried away. Princess rolled her eyes at the lounging tomcat.

"Have you bunnied already or what? Sheesh what's taking you so long?" Princess called up to Niobe teasingly. Normally, Niobe would have shot back a witty retort, but she could only muster a defeated shake of her head after watching her children taken away.

"Princess," said Niobe, "I need your help."


	3. Chapter 2

Orion squirmed away from his mother's grasp as she tried to clean his ear. He dashed away giggling with his brother. The pair joined their three sisters tumbling in their hay bedding. Beneath the nursery a couple of field mice called to the bunnies, "it would be ever so kind if you could push a few pellets over the edge for us."

Orion's brother called back, "You'd better get out of here before Princess shows up!"

The fat tom cat on the porch opened his eyes, sighed as if chasing mice wasn't worth his effort, then closed his eyes again.

The slender silhouette of a cat appeared on the adjacent fence. "We warned you!" Orion yelled, laughing. Princess spotted the two mice immediately and leapt through the air towards them. She snatched one of the mice in her mouth as the other disappeared under the fence.

The bunnies all squealed, "Princess! Don't hurt them, please! Please!"

Princess gave them a playful growl and tossed the mouse over the fence. The mouse jumped to her feet, shook her head, then took off running after her friend. "It's a good thing my owners feed me so well," princess replied with mock irritation as she jumped onto a ledge near the nursery. She pushed her face against the mesh and the bunnies rushed to touch noses with her.

"Did you hear?" squealed one of the bunnies excitedly. "Meadow's bunnies are rabbits now! They got moved to the big pen!"

Princess froze, mouth agape. Her eyes darted to Meadow. She immediately recognized the emptiness in the queen's eyes and dropped her head respectfully.

"They were weaned," said Meadow wearily, as if pushing the words out of her mouth took every bit of strength left in her defeated body.

"Soon we'll get to be big rabbits in the big pen!" said another bunny proudly.

Princess looked quizzically towards their mother, Niobe. She shook her head and looked to her paws. "They don't understand what it means. They think it means they aren't bunnies anymore. That's all they know. They weren't born yet for the Fall…," Niobe whispered before her voice caught short with a silent sob. She turned away then turned back to smile reassuringly to her bunnies who had already become distracted by a flittering butterfly.

"Aren't you going to tell them?" whispered Princess.

"No, but I don't have to tell them yet. I don't have to tell them everything. They won't need to know," she protested. "We have a plan, right? You'll still help me?"

"Is it ready?"

"It will be."

Just then the two-legged farmer walked out into the back yard. "There's my little mouser!" he called out to Princess affectionately.

Princess leapt to the top of the fence to observe from a distance.

Orion tentatively picked up one of the food pellets between his teeth. "Drop that!" hissed his mother angrily.

"Why?" he asked, the pellet still in his mouth.

His mother froze in terror when the farmer approached and looked at her tiny bunny cheerfully chewing on a food pellet.

"Look who is ready to be weaned! I suppose you and your mates are ready to move out of the nursery, eh?"

"No, no, no, I thought I had more time," Niobe wheezed in a panic.

The farmer reached into the nursery cage and pulled out one of the bunnies by the scruff of her neck. He held her up, admiring the beauty of her coat. "Gorgeous, simply gorgeous," he exclaimed. The bunny beamed with pride. As he turned to unlatch the gate to the large pen, Niobe hurriedly pushed aside the straw bedding revealing the small hole she slowly chewed, through the wire mesh, over the course of two moons. She called her remaining four bunnies. They looked at her quizzically.

"I don't have time to explain, but you must leave. Now!"

One of the bunnies cocked her head, confused, but didn't move. The farmer returned and took her by the scruff of the neck.

"Now!" their mother yelled.

"Princess!" Niobe yelled into the hole. "We need you now! Where did you go? No time to wait. Please, Gods, let them land safely."

She turned her attention back to her bunnies. "I don't have time to explain, but you must go through this hole and run. Do not stop running until Princess finds you. Do you understand?"

Niobe pushed Celeste, the smallest of the litter, through the tight hole. Celeste cried out as sharp wires cut through her skin, then she fell onto a pile of soft leaves. Orion, without further encouragement dove through the hole with the full force of his rear haunches, after his sister.

Niobe turned then screamed to find that the Farmer had already returned and was taking a third bunny. She instinctively leapt forward, biting on the Farmer's hand with all of her strength. He dropped the bunny in hand who ran under the house. He cursed loudly, shaking Niobe off his hand. She immediately ran to hide the hole in the floor with her body.

The Farmer ran toward the house, peering under the house for the run away bunny. He went into the barn to find a flashlight. Niobe peered through the hole at two sets of tiny eyes peering up at her. "I love you both. I'm sorry I didn't explain but I thought I had more time. You have to go and never come back. Promise me that you'll never come back."

"No, mama, we can't leave you!"

"You must," she said firmly. "Promise me. Promise me that you will never return."

"We promise," the bunnies responded tearfully.

"Thank the Gods," Niobe exclaimed as Princess emerged from nearby bushes, then gasped when a black and white tom followed closely behind.

"This is Smudge. He's here to help," Princess said to Niobe. Niobe nodded her consent.

The Farmer, having given up his search for the third bunny, returned for the remaining two. Niobe flatten herself against the hole, ready to fight any hand that dared enter the nursery. The two cats below dropped to a crouch, slowly creeping forward on silent paws. They each gently picked up a bunny and crept backwards into the bushes and through a broken board in the fence.


End file.
